Man to stand trial in partner's death

NEWS

by Seth Hemmelgarn

A San Francisco judge has ordered a man accused of bashing
in the head of his longtime partner to stand trial in the partner's death.

But while holding Timothy Stewart, 48, to answer on the
charge of murdering Terry Rex Spray, 60, Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan also
said that if he were a juror, he would have a "reasonable doubt" of
Stewart's guilt, based on the evidence he had seen.

Stewart, who had been Spray's registered domestic partner
since 1994, is accused of assaulting Spray with a flat metal bar August 3 in
the garage of their apartment building at 1135 Ellis Street. Spray died
September 18, and police arrested Stewart September 24.

At the Wednesday, December 12 conclusion of the preliminary
hearing, which lasted more than five days, Chan said, "A couple of jurors,
at least, could have some real questions" about whether Stewart's guilty,
but he noted "there's a different standard of proof" to be met at the
preliminary hearing stage.

Chan pointed to surveillance video from the garage as among
the evidence that raised "strong suspicion" that Stewart was
involved.

The video covers about 11 minutes from around the time Spray
is believed to have been assaulted, but it doesn't show the actual attack. In the
video Stewart walks into the garage from the lobby just after 7 a.m., pushes a
button to open the garage door, and disappears from view.

Within moments, the camera is tilted upward, eliminating the
view of a portion of the garage.

Then, Spray enters the garage from the lobby and disappears
behind a column. He reappears briefly before walking out of view again. Within
three minutes, according to a time display on the video, the back of someone's
head is visible near where Spray could last be viewed. The person appears to
have a white object over one hand and pushes the button to open the garage
door.

Police Officer Sandon Cheung testified the door stays at
least partially open for 40 seconds. According to Cheung, Stewart had identified
himself as the first person in the video. It wasn't clear from the footage who
the person with the white object was.

Chan compared the timing of the footage to cell phone calls
that seemed to take place just before Spray entered the garage. The brief calls
were between a number belonging to Stewart and a number belonging to the San
Mateo woman he told police he'd recently moved in with. She had apparently been
waiting for Stewart on Ellis Street to pick him up the morning of Spray's
assault.

Spray and the woman knew about each other, and Stewart and
Spray planned to take over the woman's condominium, according to information
presented in court.

Chan also brought up a "smear" on the door of
Spray and Stewart's apartment.

San Francisco Police Department crime lab worker Sharon
Barkwill testified that swabs from the door had tested "presumptively
positive for the presence of blood." However, she acknowledged that the
tests didn't reveal whose blood it was, how long it had been present, or even
whether it was human blood.

Deputy Public Defender Danielle Harris told Chan there was
"nothing the court has said that doesn't require speculation."

During a recorded interview with police that was played in
court, Stewart said he had entered into a domestic partnership with Spray in
order to get insurance. Assistant District Attorney John Rowland said Stewart
had committed fraud and "that fraud completely takes away from his
credibility."

After the hearing, Harris said Spray and Stewart's
relationship had "worked for them for many, many years," but
according to Rowland "their relationship is criminal."

Spray had worked as a nurse and had once been a union
president. At his November 16 memorial service, he was described as a
"tireless" advocate for others. Stewart, who's in custody and was in
court throughout the hearing, appeared to cry at one point during the
proceedings.

During the hearing, Rowland didn't offer any clear
indication of what the motive for the killing may have been. People who knew
the couple have indicated to the Bay Area Reporter
that Spray possibly had sizable savings from retirement
and other funds, but Harris told the paper "that hasn't been
substantiated, as far as I'm aware."